Big Sky Times

Free entry was offered to citizens of Montana visiting the Museum of the Rockies, which is located on the campus of Montana State University, last Saturday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

At the Museum of the Rockies, visitors from the state of Montana had the opportunity to view two special limited-time exhibits, as well as cultural and natural history exhibits, exhibits geared toward children, planetarium shows and the museum store.

The museum is home to one of the greatest collections of North American dinosaurs in the world, including a tyrannosaurus rex and a growth series of the horned triceratops, in addition to a nearly complete allosaurus and several dinosaur eggs.

According to the museum's website, "The Museum of the Rockies (MOR) is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, a college-level division of Montana State University, a Smithsonian Affiliate and a repository for state and federal fossils. All of these distinctions make it a Smithsonian Affiliate. MOR is widely regarded as a cultural and natural history museum, as well as a research facility of world-class caliber. It is well-known for exhibiting a vast collection of dinosaur fossils, one of which is a T. rex skeleton that has been entirely mounted.

"Exhibits from around the world, cultural and natural history displays, planetarium presentations, educational programs and camps, informative talks, fundraising events and a museum store are just some of the things that MOR has to offer its members and visitors. The Museum of Religious Art is one of only 1,096 museums in the U.S. -- out of a total of more than 33,000 museums -- that have earned accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums.

"In addition, the museum is a participant in the Travel Passport Program of the Association of Science-Technology Centers, as well as the Montana Dinosaur Trail. The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, the Carter County Museum, the Mifune Dinosaur Museum, the Aso Volcano Museum and the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum are some of the museums with which the institution maintains sister-museum partnerships."